Betty and her chums were preparing to spend their first night in camp
on Elm Island, in the tent. They had had supper-- eating with fine
appetites-- and after a little run about the lake had tied up at the
small dock near their tent.

"A lantern would be a good thing to burn," said Aunt Kate. "That will
give some warmth, too."

"And we can see better, if-- if anything comes!" exclaimed Amy,
evidently with an effort.

"Anything-- what do you mean?" demanded Mollie, as she combed out her
long hair, preparatory to braiding it.

"Now look here," went on practical Betty. "There's no use evading this
matter. There's no such thing as a ghost, of that we are certain, and
yet if we shy at mentioning it all the while it will only make us more
nervous."

"Well, then," resumed Betty, "there's no use in being afraid to use
the word, as Amy seemed to be. So talk ghost all you like-- you can't
scare me. I'm so tired I know I'll sleep soundly, and I hope the rest
of you will. Only, for goodness sakes, don't be talking in weird
whispers. That is far worse than all the ghosts in creation."

"That's what I say!" exclaimed Aunt Kate, who was an old-fashioned,
motherly soul. "If the ghost comes I'm going to talk to it, and ask
how things are-- er-- on the other side. Girls, it's a great privilege
to have a ghostly friend. If the man who owns this island knew what
was good for him he'd advertise the fact that it was haunted. If Mr.
Lagg were here I'd get him to make up a poem about the ghost. That
would scare it off, if anything could."

"That's the way to talk!" cried Betty, cheerfully. "And now for a good
night's rest. Bur-- r-- r-- r! It is cold!" and she shivered.

"I'm going to get some more blankets from the boat," declared Mollie.
"I know we'll be glad of them before morning. Come along with me,
Grace," she added, after a moment's pause, as she took up one of the
lanterns. "You can help carry them."

"You didn't stay long," commented Betty, drily. "it's only a step to
the dock," answered Mollie, as she and Grace deposited their arm-loads
of blankets on the cots.

Then after the talk and laughter had died away, quiet gradually
settled down in the camp tent. The Outdoor Girls were trying to go to
sleep, but one and all, afterward, even Aunt Kate, complained that it
was difficult. Whether it was the change from the boat, or the talk of
the ghost, none could say. At any rate there were uneasy turnings from
side to side, and as each cot squeaked in a different key, and as one
or the other was constantly "singing," the result may be imagined.

"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Grace, impatiently, after a half-hour of
comparative quiet, "I know I'll never get to sleep. Do you girls mind
if I sit up and read a little? That always makes me drowsy, and I've
got a book that needs finishing." Only Aunt Kate was slumbering.

"Got any chocolates that need eating?" asked Mollie, with a laugh, in
which they all joined, half-hysterically.

"Why don't we all of us sit up a while, and-- I have it-- we'll make a
pot of chocolate," exclaimed Mollie. "That will make us all sleep, and
warm us-- it is getting real chilly already."

"Perhaps that will be best," agreed Betty, as she donned her heavy
dressing gown and warm slippers, for the tent was cool even in July.

Soon there was the aroma of chocolate in the little cooking shelter,
and the girls sat around, in various picturesque and comfortable
attitudes, sipping the warm beverage and nibbling the crisp crackers.

Then gradually their nerves quieted down, and even Grace, more aroused
than any of the others, began to feel drowsy. One by one they again
sought their cots, and finally a series of deep breathings told of
much-needed sleep.

It must have been long after midnight when Betty was suddenly aroused
by a queer noise. She had slept heavily, and at first she was not
fully aware of her surroundings, nor what had awakened her. Then she
became conscious of a curious heavy breathing, as of some animal. She
sat up in alarm, her heart pounding furiously. Her throat went dry.

Betty, forcing herself to action, stood beside her chum. She was just
in time to see some-thing big and white run down toward the lake.
There was a clash and jingling as of chains, and a splashing of water.
Then the white thing disappeared, and the girls stood staring at one
another, trembling violently.